Does Ranking for Your Brand Name Really Matter?
While there are some major benefits to ranking for your brand name, ranking for your brand name should also be somewhat of a - duh factor. Brand awareness is a very crucial part of branding. However, many, if not nearly all businesses are missing out on a good portion of revenue because they only want to rank for their brand name. Ranking for your name should be a given. It is a bar so high you could trip over it. If your SEO and google ranking goals are limited to ranking for your own name, then you are missing out on added revenue and true brand awareness.
Why SEO Is More Than Ranking for Your Name
Ranking for your name is necessary for you to have a website that helps make you money, but it is not sufficient. Ranking for your name by itself is not enough to help your business generate revenue. If somebody is doing a google search for your business name, then they are already trying to do business with you! You want your business name to show up for google searches when people are looking for the services you provide. Here are three reasons why SEO and having a quality website is about more than ranking for your name:
Ranking for Your Name is a Given.
If you input your site title properly and submit a sitemap to google, ranking for your brand name is a given. This isn’t considered as part of a ranking factor when they say “90% of websites get no search traffic” making this a - duh factor - to us. If your website isn’t ranking for your brand name, either you picked a horrible brand name or you haven’t done the basic steps to properly launch your website. On the flip side, if your web developer, digital marketer, or SEO expert are bragging about ranking your name, then it’s time for someone new.
Ranking Matters Most for the Searches That Matter Most.
Let’s look at an example. What if your brand name is something like “Caring for You Daycare” and you only watch elderly people and provide in-home care in your community? Now, what if you don’t pull up for terms like elderly in-home care, in-home care Pensacola or other terms that would be relative to someone in need of your services? You would then have to spend a lot of time or money on a branding campaign to get the referrals and leads flowing you need to feel confident about your business. SEO can seem pricey at times, but it’s not when you consider how much money you can throw into other marketing arenas where people aren’t spending their time looking for your services or products.
Branding is More Than Ranking – It is Reputation.
Even if you rank for your brand name, and you have spent the time, years, and money to build a reputation for yourself, if you aren’t investing in growing your brand awareness via search algorithms, you are losing a portion of potential sales. Ask yourself, “What am I doing to remind my clients I am still in business? Search isn’t going away. However, email campaigns and annual holiday commercials might be. Being at the forefront of google and staying informed of search algorithm updates will be a lasting investment to target people interested in your products and services.
Final Thoughts
Once you take the time to evaluate where your ideal clients may be, you will see the endless possibilities and combinations of words there are to help you target them on the web. We help our clients review possible keywords to see when and where terms or phrases can be modified to reach target markets. Obviously, we think it is a good idea that your business ranks for your own name. But, if it is not getting your website in front of your target market in a favorable light, then your website is not doing enough. Don’t be satisfied with the bare minimum and make sure you rank for the keywords that matter. Contact us if you want to see all the things your website can and should be doing for you.
